Marco Manders-Tulpi-Seat Chair

At Design Interviews

Interview with Marco Manders : Frank Scott: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?. Marco Manders : Everyone knows tulips. They are the jewels amongst our flowers, a great joy to many of us. A typical Dutch icon. Tulips are a great inspiration to many artists and designers, including me. And I want to sit on a clean and dry seat in the public space. Because of this interesting feature, the design prevents the Tulpi from being exposed to outside elements like rain, bird droppings or leaves.
.Frank Scott: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?. Marco Manders : The main focus in designing Tulpi-seat was to realize a more attractive streetscape, bring more fun and colour into public spaces.
I wanted to achieve, create eye-catching landmarks and bring Art and Design into public spaces. Accessible to a large audience
.Frank Scott: What are your future plans for this award winning design?. Marco Manders : Besides generating more sales for Tulpi-seat. I am now in the process of creating an upholstered indoor version Tulpi-seat-Chill for consumers and office furniture projects.
And designing Tulpi-seat-Shine for Art projects such as Amsterdam Light Festival and Holland Pavilions
.Frank Scott: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?. Marco Manders : The Tulpi has gone through a seven year development, concentrating on its design, ergonomic features and engineering process. It started in 2004 and the first Tulpi was produced on 30th march 2011
.Frank Scott: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?. Marco Manders : I entered this idea for the Tulpi-seat during a Dutch government pitch, an event where professionals were invited to enter their new design ideas for public space design. My entry was well received, but not the winner. By that time I had fallen in love with design for public spaces after which I decided to further develop and design the Tulpi-seat.
.Frank Scott: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?. Marco Manders : We produce all our designs by ourselves. .Frank Scott: What made you design this particular type of work?. Marco Manders : After participating in the Dutch government pitch, I fel in love with design for public spaces after which I decided to further develop the Tulpi-seat. .Frank Scott: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?. Marco Manders : Jochem Galama - Ergonomist
Stephan Logger - Engineer
.Frank Scott: Who is the target customer for his design?. Marco Manders : Target customers are Gouverment and Project Developers .Frank Scott: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?. Marco Manders : This eye-catching design, Tulpi-seat, add s colour to any environment. It is a perfect combination of design, ergonomics and sustainability with a huge fun factor! The Tulpi-seat automatically folds when its occupant gets up, guaranteeing a clean and dry seat for the next user! With full 360 degree rotation, the Tulpi-seat lets you pick your own view!
.Frank Scott: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?. Marco Manders : The designs looks like a Tulip, and back then it was a trend to introduce names with an i (i-Tunes, i-Phone) but instead of naming my design i-Tulip, I decided to name it “Tulpi” .Frank Scott: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?. Marco Manders : Illustrator - Photoshop - Pencil and paper - Solid-works - Rhino- Navigram .Frank Scott: What is the most unique aspect of your design?. Marco Manders : The major selling point of the flowery furniture is once you get up, it closes just like a tulip at night. That prevents the sitting surface from getting rained on or bombed with bird droppings. .Frank Scott: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?. Marco Manders : Jochem Galama - Ergonomist
Stephan Logger - Engineer .Frank Scott: What is the role of technology in this particular design?. Marco Manders : The Folding of the seat, it closes automatically. The Tulpi-seat automatically folds when its occupant gets up, guaranteeing a clean and dry seat for the next user .Frank Scott: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?. Marco Manders : I researched the folding systems used in Cinema chairs .Frank Scott: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?. Marco Manders : While designing Tulpi-seat, of course the shape of a tulp had to stay. But also the engineering and the ergonomic features of the seat were a real challenge to accomplish.
.Frank Scott: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?. Marco Manders : By coincidence we found out about A&#039; Design Awards, and after thorough thinking decided to participate and see what would come of it. .Frank Scott: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?. Marco Manders : My understanding of engineering grew enormously while designing Tulpi-seat. As did my knowledge of materials like steel and plastics and skills like ergonomics, engineering and manufacturing processes like the injection and rotation al molding process. .